


Cortex

by Zelderon



Series: One Last Time [2]
Category: Adventure Time
Genre: Episode Prequel, Episode: s03e03 Memory of a Memory, F/F, F/M, Get Pumped for 12 Days of Bubbline 2015!
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-10-12
Updated: 2015-11-19
Packaged: 2018-04-26 01:11:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 3,164
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4984108
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Zelderon/pseuds/Zelderon
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Ash has entered into Marceline's mind once more. Set right before the events of Memory of a Memory. </p><p>It's not a redemption arc per se, but it casts Ash in a more nuanced light than in the show. </p><p>So I ended up doing this short story Grayble style. I will be very impressed if anyone can guess the theme.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Ecstasy

When the world re stabilized around Ash, the first thing he experienced was unbridled joy. It made him remember his first spell. The first time he could feel the spark of life growing at his fingertips as a seed turned into a bursting saturated ruby flower before his very eyes. He felt fingers brush against his hand, heard an intoxicating chuckle, and smelled the heady aroma of adventure mixed with the musk of centuries of experience with a hint of scarlet.

The sound of a child giggling pierced through his revelry. The air around him was starkly cold and he could feel dirty snow between his fingers as he pushed himself up into a sitting position. A young girl with messy coal black hair dashed passed him as an old man with blue skin chased her, throwing hastily made snowballs that he held cradled in one arm.

“Haha, you can’t hit me Simon.” she turned around, sticking her forked tongue at the old man.

“Really? Well, we’ll just see about that!” The old man put on an extra burst of speed. Ash followed them as quickly as he could.

Marceline ran into a forest of short snow covered trees. She crouched behind one and peered back where she came from. Ash could feel his heart race and taste intense excitement.

Suddenly, out of nowhere Marceline was pelted by a deluge of snow. She shrieked with laughter and surprise as the old man tackled her and swept her up into a hug. He threw her into the air and caught her before placing her back down. 

“Hey, you cheated.” Marceline said accusingly. Or at least as accusingly as a seven-year-old who could barely contain her laughter managed.

“If you say so milady. I submit myself to your judgment, Marceline, the Snowball Fight Queen,” replied Simon with a dramatic bow that was rewarded by two sloppily made snowballs in quick succession pounding against his face. 

They both broke out in laughter, but as Simon straightened up he took a closer look at the two holes on the side of the “tree” that were left by Marceline’s snowball construction activities. The “bark” underneath the layer of snow had a strange texture and color. Almost as if someone had melted a greenish brown candle and let the wax drip down the side of — Ash could feel fear constrict his heart as Marceline noticed that Simon had stopped laughing and wore an unsettled look on his face.

“What’s wrong Simon?” Marceline asked in a voice tinged with anxiety.

“Oh nothing. Hey let’s head back to the clearing and get our bags. Then I’ll teach you how to build a snowman.” He put on a nervous smile that didn’t quite fit. Like an old pair of pants that stretch just a bit too tight. 

“Oh oh, let’s get some sticks from this forest. We can use them as arms!”

“Uhh Marceline I think we should find some sticks somewhere else to use.” The man nervously started walking out of the woods, holding Marceline’s hand.

“But we already burned all the wood back at our campsite. It’ll take ages to find more.” The girl whined and tried to drag her feet.

“I said NO Marceline!” The man’s face contorted monstrously and seemed to fill up Ash’s entire world. His beard and hair seemed to lengthen taking on a life of its own as his nose sharpened to a deadly point. Crackling lightning bolts of ice seemed to shoot from his eyes as his teeth gnashed together like some unholy Nightospherian demon. Paralyzing fear froze Ash to the spot and he could feel tears beginning to drip down his small face.

Simon seemed to realize he was scaring Marceline and returned to his normal appearance. He held Marceline close and picked her up into his embrace.

“I’m sorry Marceline. What I mean to say is the branches around here are no good. We don’t want to make a second rate snowman do we?” Ash could see Simon’s eyes begin to water.

“I...I know Simon,” Marceline sniffed, wiping her nose on a grimy hand. “It’s okay. We’ll make the best snowman ever when we get back home.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 12 Days of Bubbline 2015 is coming! It's happening from December 20th- December 31st. Check out the blog page here: http://12daysofbubbline.tumblr.com/


	2. Melancholy

Ash followed them as they walked and suddenly felt like an intruder. He could feel something tugging at him, telling him his time in this memory was over. He saw a decrepit car in the bushes right off the path they were walking down. There was a dead body in the driver’s seat but it didn’t seem like anyone cared. Ash looked at it for a moment and walked around to the passenger side door. Marceline and Simon continued walking down the path as Marceline gaily regaled Simon with some story about a candlestick, a dog, and a pirate ship. Ash opened the door and stepped in.

Ash suddenly forgot why he was even in Marceline’s memories. What was the point? As soon as he fixed Marceline, he would just do something stupid, or to be honest several things stupid, and Marceline would leave him again. Then he would be all alone again. He always made the same mistakes. He knew he had problems but didn’t do anything to fix them. He’d like to blame his abrasive personality on his upbringing and his mother, but he knew deep down that it was all his fault. His mother had been wonderful and loving and he was just a swinish degenerate. He knew the many of the things he said to Marceline were hurtful but he just couldn’t help himself, much less bring himself to apologize.

The Grand Master Wizard himself had warned him that no magic was free; there was always a price to pay. He thought about his old master and how her experiments had gradually warped twisted her body and mind. As far as he knew, she was still trapped in her garden of sweets, as paranoid as ever that someone one steal one of her infinite donuts or cupcakes. He himself had left once her delusions convinced her to take away his magic. She had snuck into his room at night and cast the spell. When he awoke, he found her in the garden digging up and replacing a swatch of chocolate sprinkle tartlet vines. She was shaking and muttering about how he was scheming against her. Luckily, he was able to leave the floral prison before she noticed, and to convince the Grand Master to force Maia to give him his magic back. He still remembered those unreadable emerald eyes watching him as he pitifully begged on his hands and knees for help before an audience of the greatest magic users in all of Ooo.

Ash knew his life was one big ferris wheel of failure and sadness. His failure as a wizard. His failure to be a good boyfriend for Marceline. His failure to save Maia.

Ash could feel cold tears running down his face as he collapsed into the snow. Evanescent tendrils of ice began climbing up his arms and legs. He was roused by the barking and panting of dogs. A giant with blue skin and a massive, unkempt beard roared by on a sled pulled by the most monstrous dogs Ash had ever seen. The man wiped his leaking eyes and nose as he passed Ash. Each frozen teardrop left behind in the snow was the size of Ash’s head. Ash looked back where the man came from and saw an improbably tall girl wearing a bulky brown sweater. 

By the time Ash reached Marceline, she was lying catatonic in the snow. She had long stopped crying. The tears that had been running down her eyes left slick, icy tattoos on her face. It had taken Ash what felt like an hour of trudging through the high snow just to reach her position. He was glad that nothing in her memories could see or otherwise sense him. At least he was a decent enough wizard to manage traveling into her mind undetected.

He wanted to reach out a lay an arm on her for comfort but decided against it. Besides, it would’ve looked ridiculous considering their current size differences. He was a mouse, a rabbit at best, compared to her. He couldn’t bare to see her like this, so broken and empty. He saw a shining crack bisecting a ruined building and started towards it.

To his eternal shame, he was too much of a coward to even glance backwards.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 12 Days of Bubbline 2015 is coming! It's happening from December 20th- December 31st. Check out the blog page here: http://12daysofbubbline.tumblr.com/


	3. Distaste

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Preview:
> 
> “Go away, Marceline,” Bubblegum sighed but made no move to remove her from the room.

Ash walked into a bright pink room. The first thing that struck him was that everything was pink. The wall, the bed, the rug, the shelves, even the two plants on either side of the bed gave off a pink glow. It reminded him of the inside of a giant pink womb. He had to admit it had a calming effect despite the affront to good taste, but he still objected the monochromatic color palette. It kind of reminded him of Maia’s garden. All the pastels didn’t really match the brooding, goth vibes he was trying to cultivate. When his mother first introduced her to him in Wizard City, he thought she would be the perfect master. Her sallow, pale blue skin and black hair and dress in fit perfectly into his view of what a proper witch or wizard should look like.

He freely admitted that he had been pretty stupid as a kid.

Maia was a brilliant witch. She knew more about plant magic than anyone else he had ever met. But his stupid young self had viewed her with disdain as soon as he arrived at her home. How could anyone take this witch seriously? Her garden was almost as sickening as the Candy Kingdom. He soon learned there was much more to Maia and her garden than what could be seen with a cursory glance. Dark magics were cast in the glade of sugar and spice.

Regardless, there was this one bush that particularly annoyed him. He couldn’t really put his finger on why. Maybe it was the shape or the color of the leaves? Was it the smell of the donuts growing off of it? He didn’t know. All he knew was that it was the ugliest plant in creation. He once tried to explain it to Maia after she had seen his thoughts on during a lesson on mind magic. He had been scared that Maia would be angry, but she instead just laughed and said everyone is entitled to his or her opinion. She was still curious about why he didn’t like that cupcake bush but he had failed at explaining why. She said that people’s tastes were hard to figure out without the use of advanced mind magic. Some people simply like some things, while some people like others.

It seemed he and Marceline had similar sentiments about Bubblegum’s room. He had previously heard her describe it, but this was the first time he himself had seen it. He secretly wondered if Maia and Bubblegum were friends; they certainly shared the same design aesthetics. He almost felt a vague sense of nostalgia. Marceline floated around , looking at the books on the shelves. They were mostly comprised of lab manuals, scientific texts, and Bubblegum’s personal notes. One particular unmarked book had a small gold lock. Marceline smirked and morphed her index and middle fingers into a key shape before jabbing them into the lock. She was rewarded with an electric shock that made her hiss before withdrawing her fingers. Bubblegum chose that moment to walk into the room.

“Marceline, what are you doing with that book?!” Bubblegum shouted, “And what did I tell you about sneaking in here?”

“I think something about how you like to make a big fuss about it but secretly love it when I pay you surprise visits. And that you’re also secretly jealous that I’m such a free spirit and do whatever I want?” Marceline teased.

Bubblegum growled under her breath menacingly and points at the door. “Go. Away.”

“Geeze PB, what’s got you all worked up? Did your little meeting with the Goblin King go well? Did he agree to your trade agreements?”

“Ughhh, Marceline, just go away,” Bubblegum walked over to her dresser and removed her crown before starting to brush her frazzled hair.

“Well, you should’ve given him more concessions. That deal you were offering was total bunk. Even goblins aren’t that stupid. You gotta be nice to the people you’re trying to ruthlessly exploit,” said Marceline casually.

“Yeah, well,” Bubblegum stopped brushing her hair suddenly in realization, “Wait, how did you know what we discussed during our closed meeting?”

“Mmmm, lucky guess,” Marceline said as she turned invisible.

“Ughhh, I have to figure out a way to disrupt your cloaking abilities,” Bubblegum said with an exasperated sigh, putting down the brush and grabbing a bottle from her dresser. “It would be easier if you let me conduct some experiments.”

“Yeah, but then we wouldn’t have these fun talks,” said Marceline with a grin, “Also, I wouldn’t have been there to steal this,” Marceline held out a long plain twisted dagger and waved it back and forth in front of Bubblegum like a toy. A toy made of goblin steel sharp enough to slice the tip of Marceline’s undulating hair off when she wasn’t careful. She pretended not to notice.

“What the — where did that come from?!” Bubblegum yelled.

“You know your new banana guards really suck at searching visitors for weapons, Bonnie. What happened to those Rattleballs guys?”

“Oh, hehe...,” Bubblegum laughed nervously and a light blush appeared on her face.

“And if you want to research my vampire skills, I can think of a few ideas for some hands on experiments,” Marceline floated closer to Bubblegum and rested her head on one of her shoulders.

Marceline’s nose twitched, “Woah, what is that smell. Jeez, Bonnie it smells like you work in a perfume factory. Are you wearing some kind of freaky new perfume?”

Bubblegum sniffed and turned up her nose, “I’ll have you know there’s nothing ‘freaky’ about my perfume. It’s actually a quite expensive brand made by the best perfumist in the Candy Kingdom. Everyone in the Candy Kingdom knows Chocoberry makes the best perfume.”

“Didn’t you personally create all the candy people?” Marceline asked smugly. “And who wears perfume to bed?”

“Go away, Marceline,” Bubblegum sighed but made no move to remove her from the room.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 12 Days of Bubbline 2015 is coming! It's happening from December 20th- December 31st. Check out the blog page here: http://12daysofbubbline.tumblr.com/


	4. Choler

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Preview: "After Marceline finished exhausting a venerable cascade of foul language, she moved onto a series of words that should never have been uttered in the realm of mortals."

Ash left the room through a shimmering wardrobe door. He was aware Marceline had never stopped loving Bubblegum even when they stopped talking. He had once tried erasing some of Marceline’s memories of Bubblegum but he was met with extreme resistance and pain. As in thousands of bats chasing him through her memories, razor sharp teeth ripping into his flesh. He had been forced to prematurely leave her memories. He’d wasted years, potions and spells trying to puzzle out why those memories were so resistant to tampering. In the end he gave up and learned to live with the longing looks she shot towards the Candy Kingdom whenever she thought he wasn’t looking.

It made him angry when he thought about how Marceline looked at Bubblegum in the last dream. Why did she love her so much? What was so good about her? What could she do for Marceline that he could not?

Ash looked down at his feet and saw trees falling, seemingly of their own accord. He leaned down to get a better view of the ground and saw Marceline hacking away at trees with her axe bass. At least he assumed it was Marceline. The Lovecraftian werewolf horror with flaming eyes bore little resemblance to anything even remotely humanoid.

“Grar. stupid. Idiot. Glob. Globit. arghhh,” Marceline screamed. “Screamed” wasn’t quite the right word to describe the sounds coming from the monster, but it was the closest one that existed on this mortal plane.

After Marceline finished exhausting a venerable cascade of foul language, she moved on to a series of words that should never have been uttered in the realm of mortals. Several swaths of trees were incinerated instantly. Flocks of birds for miles around took to the sky, never to be seen in Ooo ever again.

From his vantage point, he could tell the destruction that Marceline wrought was in the shape of some sort of female humanoid. He froze when he recognized the pattern she was unconsciously carving.

Why was everything always about her!

Ash exhaled in frustration and ascended into the heavens.


	5. Terror

Pain was all he knew. It was his entire world. It was in the beginning and the end. 

The entire world was engulfed in flames. Every breath seared his lungs and hot soot clouded his eyes, so that he could barely see, making everything blurry and indistinct. Green flames licked the ground, even in places with nothing left to burn. He tilted his head back to scream in agony and was greeted with ash covered skies that reflected the primordial evil greenish glow that seemed to overpower even the numerous raging red fires that were still at work consuming the remaining buildings and trees. 

Ash had never felt so helpless and vulnerable in his entire life. Not even the first time he visited the Nightosphere to meet Marceline’s father did he experience such paralyzing, unadulterated fear. Even the nightmarishly painful trials set up by the Lord of Evil himself to test a brazen suitor such as himself could not compare to even a millisecond of the pain he was in at that moment. At this point he would have welcomed the burning red flames of the Nightosphere and the screams of tortured souls. That would’ve been better than the green flames and distinct lack of sounds of life.

He heard a sniffling noise that didn’t quite serve to distract him from his torture but he registered it none the less. He looked over at an enormous little girl who was stumbling through the wreckage and waste, futily rubbing her eyes. She was the one clear image in the his hazy world.

He could hear a weak, hoarse voice cry out, “Mommy, daddy where did you go? I can’t find you,” but he wasn’t sure if he actually heard it in his ears or in his mind.

Warped, melted husks of planes and tanks were scattered around the area. He tripped over the a mound of mostly incinerated body parts trying to find a way out of this memory and into the next. He fumbled around as helpless as the little girl next to him. 

He decided that nothing was worth this level of torment. He began the incantation to end the memory spell. He would have to think of a new plan to win back Marceline. The one thing he knew was that he would never enter her memories again. Nothing was worth the infernal price of being subjugated to that desolate place once more.

**Author's Note:**

> Check out my tumblr at 
> 
> http://zelderonmorningstar.tumblr.com/ 
> 
> for more Steven Universe, My Little Pony, and Adventure Time stuff.


End file.
